Chronicles of Jonathan Tibbs 1: The Never Hero by T. Ellery Hodges
Authors: T. Ellery Hodges
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newscaster with an alarmed look as she spoke. Hayden ran over to what was left of the kitchen table and fished out the remote to unmute the sound.
“ Footage of the creature has been scant. It appears to have come out of nowhere in downtown Seattle. Currently no creditable explanation of its origins has been brought forth, but theories ranging from alien to a biological weapon have been speculated. The video we just showed you was taken from the window of a local resident. The creature has moved on from that location. Local law enforcement has responded and the area has been quarantined until officers can assess the situation.
“Again, for those of you just tuning in, be advised that a dangerous animal of unknown origin has attacked pedestrians in the downtown area. Not much is known at this time, but so far three deaths and an unknown number of injuries have been reported. At first this was thought to be a costumed man or a wild animal loose in the city, but as the footage we’ve received shows, this doesn’t appear to be the case. Reporters are not being allowed into the quarantined zone.”
Jonathan could tell from the disjointed manner of the reporting that the newscaster was doing the best she could in a live situation.
“Show the footage again dammit!” Collin yelled at the television, everyone in the room nodding in agreement with their growing impatience.
“ Here is the clip again, but understand that this footage is graphic and that some viewers may find it disturbing ,” said the reporter.
The video was taken from the second story window by someone who had his lights off to avoid getting the unwanted attention of the subject they were filming. The quality was hardly watchable as it was a home camera trying to film a poorly lit street through a closed window. The only light was from the streetlights lining the sidewalks. Nevertheless, the clip was surreal. It wasn’t one of the city’s main streets. Jonathan recognized that it was taken somewhere under the viaduct, a raised freeway that bordered Seattle’s waterfront.
People on the street were fleeing. The creature, that must have been seven or eight feet tall, made its way into the center of the road, where it stood in the light of one of the street lamps. From what could be made out it looked like an overgrown gargoyle without wings. Its body was incredibly muscular, seeming to mimic a human male in form, as the creature was chest heavy and v-shaped. The video was too rough to make out a lot of detail, but its skin seemed black and leathery. Its face wasn’t looking at the camera, but it had ear-like appendages that stretched straight back from its head like two short samurai swords.
The thing was dragging the body of a man in one hand. Its fingers held the skull like a NBA player palming a basketball. The body was horribly broken, dead. The creature swiveled in the street and let out a loud roar.
Challenger.
Jonathan heard the word in his mind in sync with the guttural roar of the creature on the television, almost as though he’d growled it to himself.
It seemed to be yelling out to the whole city. It looked up and about, into windows, and everywhere it thought a person could hear it. It finally tossed the body of the man through a car windshield with such force that it made the three roommates gasp. The monster stamped the ground, beating its chest once like a gorilla showing its strength. The street lamps shook with it, parked cars rattled, alarms went off.
Challenger!
Again, Jonathan heard the words in his head like a thought, but a thought he hadn’t given rise to, an intruder in his mind using his own internal voice to speak to him. It was disturbing. He wanted to believe it was his imagination, that he was somehow unintentionally giving rise to that word.
The person taking the video must have lost his or her nerve and ducked completely under the window sill as the footage came to an end.
The reporter came back on.
“ We’ve
“ Footage of the creature has been scant. It appears to have come out of nowhere in downtown Seattle. Currently no creditable explanation of its origins has been brought forth, but theories ranging from alien to a biological weapon have been speculated. The video we just showed you was taken from the window of a local resident. The creature has moved on from that location. Local law enforcement has responded and the area has been quarantined until officers can assess the situation.
“Again, for those of you just tuning in, be advised that a dangerous animal of unknown origin has attacked pedestrians in the downtown area. Not much is known at this time, but so far three deaths and an unknown number of injuries have been reported. At first this was thought to be a costumed man or a wild animal loose in the city, but as the footage we’ve received shows, this doesn’t appear to be the case. Reporters are not being allowed into the quarantined zone.”
Jonathan could tell from the disjointed manner of the reporting that the newscaster was doing the best she could in a live situation.
“Show the footage again dammit!” Collin yelled at the television, everyone in the room nodding in agreement with their growing impatience.
“ Here is the clip again, but understand that this footage is graphic and that some viewers may find it disturbing ,” said the reporter.
The video was taken from the second story window by someone who had his lights off to avoid getting the unwanted attention of the subject they were filming. The quality was hardly watchable as it was a home camera trying to film a poorly lit street through a closed window. The only light was from the streetlights lining the sidewalks. Nevertheless, the clip was surreal. It wasn’t one of the city’s main streets. Jonathan recognized that it was taken somewhere under the viaduct, a raised freeway that bordered Seattle’s waterfront.
People on the street were fleeing. The creature, that must have been seven or eight feet tall, made its way into the center of the road, where it stood in the light of one of the street lamps. From what could be made out it looked like an overgrown gargoyle without wings. Its body was incredibly muscular, seeming to mimic a human male in form, as the creature was chest heavy and v-shaped. The video was too rough to make out a lot of detail, but its skin seemed black and leathery. Its face wasn’t looking at the camera, but it had ear-like appendages that stretched straight back from its head like two short samurai swords.
The thing was dragging the body of a man in one hand. Its fingers held the skull like a NBA player palming a basketball. The body was horribly broken, dead. The creature swiveled in the street and let out a loud roar.
Challenger.
Jonathan heard the word in his mind in sync with the guttural roar of the creature on the television, almost as though he’d growled it to himself.
It seemed to be yelling out to the whole city. It looked up and about, into windows, and everywhere it thought a person could hear it. It finally tossed the body of the man through a car windshield with such force that it made the three roommates gasp. The monster stamped the ground, beating its chest once like a gorilla showing its strength. The street lamps shook with it, parked cars rattled, alarms went off.
Challenger!
Again, Jonathan heard the words in his head like a thought, but a thought he hadn’t given rise to, an intruder in his mind using his own internal voice to speak to him. It was disturbing. He wanted to believe it was his imagination, that he was somehow unintentionally giving rise to that word.
The person taking the video must have lost his or her nerve and ducked completely under the window sill as the footage came to an end.
The reporter came back on.
“ We’ve
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